>Wouldn't be nice if we could sign up to receive our water bill by e-mail?
>Why do we need to continue sending paper copies if someone is okay with
>getting them by e-mail. Wouldn't this be a way of saving money for the
>city?
>
>Gene Martinez
>Minnehaha, Ward 12
No, I don't think this would save money for the city.
First, it would take significant (& expensive) programming effort
to add logic to the billing program to produce email bills.
Secondly, it would require a continuing process in the city office
to keep these email addresses updated. I maintain several databases that
include emails; I can tell you that these change much more frequently than
USPO mailing addresses. (Given the current turmoil in the Internet
business, this seems to be getting worse.) Currently, the city hardly ever
makes changes in their water database -- houses & water hookups don't move
very often.
Thirdly, it would likely increase the number of unpaid
bills. Bills that are not delivered don't get paid. In the current
system, even when a house is sold, a water bill with the old owners name
will still arrive at the house. Then new owner will pay the bill, and will
call the city to get the name corrected. An email bill, however, would
just bounce back and never reach anyone who could pay it. They could mail
a bill to the address of any bounced email bill, but this requires a
process to identify the bounced emails, enter them into the system to
generate paper bills, and mail them (now at higher postage, since no longer
part of a bulk mailing). And even if the bill is paid, it's probably paid
late.
So it's a nice idea, but I can't see this saving any money for the
city. The current system works well, and very cheaply. The additional
overhead caused by an email billing would probably outweigh any savings in
printing & postage cost
Tim Bonham, 12th Ward.
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